Increased α-defensin-1 expression in Korean patients with Behcet's disease

Objectives: The aim of this study is to measure alpha-defensin-1 expression in the peripheral blood of patients with Behcet's disease (BD) and healthy control (HC) and to assess the association between alpha-defensin-1 expression and clinical features of BD. Methods: Our patients fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of the international BD study group. ELISA and real-time PCR were performed to measure alpha-defensin-1 protein level in the sera and alpha-defensin-1mRNAlevel in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), respectively. Results: The alpha-defensin-1 mRNA expression was significantly higher in BD patients (n = 59) than HC (n = 34) (0.49 +/- 0.10 vs. 0.19 +/- 0.45, P = 0.03). The level of alpha-defensin-1mRNA and protein was significantly higher in active patients than inactive patients (n = 15, 0.91 +/- 0.28 vs. n = 44, 0.35 +/- 0.09, P < 0.001 and n = 21, 7.50 +/- 2.14 ng/ml vs. n = 50, 3.32 +/- 0.96 ng/ml, P = 0.001, respectively). The level of alpha-defensin-1 mRNA was significant higher in patients with arthritis (n = 20) than those without arthritis (n = 39). Conclusion: alpha-defensin-1 mRNA and protein levels are significantly increased in BD patients, especially in active BD patients. Furthermore, alpha-defensin-1 mRNA is over-expressed in the PBMC of BD patients with arthritis. The present study suggests that alpha-defensin-1 may be involved in the pathogenesis of BD and can be used as valuable biologic marker for estimation of disease activity in BD. (C) 2011 Societe francaise de rhumatologie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.